By The Moon River
by canned.bread
Summary: Sasuke and Sakura are the prince and princess of the Uchiha and Haruno lands. When they meet by pure coincidence at night, can love take them on a journey? And if it happens, will it be able to endure what is to come? SasuxSaku, NaruxHina, ShikaxIno...


Hi everyone! I felt like doing another story... So I did it:) Please enjoy. And I'm not a beggar when it comes to reviews, but it'd be very nice if you could give me feedback on my work.

This story is dedicated to **princessaly** and **jaded sincerity**, my friends in real life that have helped guide me through everything I've been through lately, even when they were halfway across the world. Thank you so much! I love you guys!

* * *

By the Moon River

* * *

"Obaa-chan, Obaa-chan!!" The cries of seven excited children rang throughout the living room. 

A fifty-two year old woman came out of the kitchen, carrying a platter of fresh, soft cookies. Pretending to be surprised to see her grandchildren there since they came almost every week, she plastered on a big smile, greeting her grandchildren and giving each of them two of her homemade cookies.

"What are you guys doing here? Where are your mommies and daddies?" she asked while handing each child their treat.

Nine year old Hanami spoke up. "Mom and Dad went shopping and told us to come here!" Hanami's little brother and sister, Haru and Hikari, nodded, the sides of their mouths covered with crumbs.

"What about you, Kisa?" the woman asked a ten year old girl.

"Haruto and I had to stay here while Mom and Dad went out to eat..." she quietly answered. Hatori, her fourteen year old brother, was too busy trying to take care of his cousin, Momo. She was only two... and two year olds need a _lot_ of attention.

The weary grandmother sighed. "Hatori-kun," she called. The boy looked up, his eyes showing how desperate he was for help with the baby. "Yes, Obaa-chan?"

"You're holding her upside down. The blood flow in her body is changing..." she sighed once again. Hatori shifted his gaze downward, his cheeks as red as tomatoes. "Obaa-chan, can you handle her for me?? Onegai!" he begged.

"Very well, Hatori-kun. You deserve a break. Since you've been taking care of her so well, you can have another cookie," she instructed, taking the baby from his arms as he hurriedly grabbed the biggest cookie on the tray as his reward.

"Obaa-chan," a young boy called.

"Yes, Hideki?" The seven year old smiled.

"Tell us the story of how the Moon Country was formed again!" he cried.

"Yes, Grandma, tell us!" the rest of the children chorused. The old woman sighed.

"Very well then. Not long ago, perhaps... perhaps thirty-five years ago, there was a princess named Haruno Sakura..."

* * *

_Thirty-five years ago...

* * *

_

Haruno Sakura was hurriedly wandering around the castle, putting X's next to her list of tasks to do, which was pinned tightly to her elegant clipboard made of the finest white jade and best silver. And what a big list it was!

"Why can't the life of a princess be easier?!" she muttered to herself.

"Haruno-hime-sama!!"

She turned around to find an elated Hinata Hyuuga, Princess of the Hyuuga Lands, running towards her, the dark blue silk of her beautiful dress trailing after the girl. Hinata was staying at Sakura's since her parents thought it would be good for her to take a break from her duties, but at the same time, watch another busy princess working. Basically saying, Sakura was what Hinata's parents considered an example, since Sakura carried her duties and fufilled them without ever contradicting her parents or forgetting anything. Hinata, on the other hand, had to share her duties with Hanabi, so she did not carry as much of a burden as Sakura did, since she was an only child.

"Haruno-hime-sama!" Hinata panted, catching up to her best friend.

"Hinata-chan, what did I tell you about formalities? You're only allowed to call me that when we're at formal gatherings! Uhm, _hellooo_?? Thus, the word formalities??" Sakura laughed.

Hinata sheepishly grinned. "Sorry about that, Saku-chan. But guess what? Naruto-kun _proposed_!" she excitedly sputtered.

"NO WAY!!" Sakura shrieked. Sure, she's a princess. And she carried out her duties. But who said that she _had_ to act princesslike? All Hinata could do was beam.

Sakura returned the grin wholeheartedly. "Come on, Hina-chan. Tell me _everything_ while I go about finishing these... these 'chores', as Mom and Dad call them..."

And so began the whole story. "W-well, Naruto-kun first asked me to go out with him to his open court, you know, the whole 'Royalty Will Solve Your Problems For You' thing... His parents want him to be a good advisor as well as King in the future. By the time he was done, it was almost seven o' clock, since this one man wouldn't stop saying how his neighbor had stolen his chickens, when it was so obvious that the neighbor was so rich, there was no _point _in him even stealing! He could have bought five times more livestock with a single paycheck than that farmer would ever raise in his entire life! And since I hadn't eaten lunch, or dinner, for that matter, Naruto-kun took me out to the fanciest restaurant in all of the Uzumaki lands! And you already know that the Uzumaki's are extremely proud to say that they have the finest dining services in all of the country. He must have tried proposing to me all day, but he finally got sick of waiting. So when our bowls of ramen came, he looked deep into my eyes, told me he loved me, and right before he asked me to marry him, a waiter accidentally dumped a huge container of soy sauce and ramen all over his head! But Naruto was so impatient, he proposed to me covered in soy sauce with an upside down bowl of noodles on his head!" Hinata laughed.

"A-A BO-BOWL OF NOO-N-NOO-**NOODLES**!!" Sakura howled. What she **_wouldn't_** give to see that proposal!!

"Yes, a bowl of noodles!"

"That's just _too_ flippin' hilarious!!" Sakura continued laughing until she could have sworn her brain was suffering from lack of seriousness.

"I wish I had recorded it..." Hinata regretted.

"I WISH YOU HAD!!"

"If only I had brought my camer-"

"Hyuuga-hime-sama!" A maid called.

"Yes?" Hinata politely asked.

"Uzumaki-oji-sama has requested that you grace him with the pleasure of your presence in Haruno-hime-sama's Great Hall," the maid curtsied and quickly left to tend to the rest of her duties.

"Sakura-chan... is it okay if I go?" Hinata quietly asked.

Sakura gaped. "Is that even a question? Of course you can go! Why, I should change that to 'Of course you **must** go!' Good lord, Hinata, don't let me be the cause of the already little time you spend together..."

Hinata gave Sakura a big hug and smile, turning around to leave.

"Hina-chan!" Sakura called.

The princess stopped in her tracks.

"Yes, Saku-chan?"

"Whatever you do, make sure you use birth control!!" Sakura grinned, trying her best not to laugh as Hinata turned as red as an apple, then stiffly continued her way down to the Haruno's Great Hall, where Naruto, Sakura's other best friend, was waiting.

The Haruno princess continued doing her chores, but continued to think about her best friends' engagement.

_I'm so happy for them! _

_**Hell yeah we are! I mean, honestly, who would have thought Naruto would propose so soon?**_

_They've known each other for years, but they met a few months back. There were sparks everywhere when we introduced them, huh, Inner Self?_

_**YUP! Well... I'm bushed. I've been filing away all your memory files... and let me tell you, it's not an easy job.**_

_Inner selves sleep? And they file stuff too?_

_**We do a lot of things. See ya in like... whenever. And don't forget- I'm the better side. HELL YEAH!**_

_... Whatever._

When Sakura successfully made sure her inner self was knocked out, she couldn't help but wonder about her future marriage.

_I wonder though... all my friends are getting married... Ino-chan to Shikamaru-kun, Temari-chan to Chouji-kun, Hinata-chan and Naruto-kun... now all that's left is Tenten and myself. Will I ever... be able to love?

* * *

_

"Uchiha-oji-sama! You have recieved a scroll from Uzumaki-oji-sama upon urgent request," a guard announced, disturbing the young prince from his tedious work. _The dobe sent me a letter? _

"Give me the scroll then, you idiot. Don't just stand there," Sasuke irritatingly grunted, seizing the scroll from the guard's extremely pudgy hands, carelessly peeling the wax seal off and unrolling the piece of parchment. He was surprised to see that it wasn't Naruto's famous ramen stationery, but a rather... _elegantly _designed paper.

_Hey Sasuke-teme,_

_Guess what? Me and Hinata-chan are getting married! That's right, we're getting **hitched**! _

The letter went on to tell of how Naruto had proposed to his sweetheart, ramen bowl, soy sauce, and all. If Sasuke weren't Sasuke, he would have been laughing his super fine ass off like an idiot. All he gave to show that he was amused was his famous drop dead sexy smirk as he continued reading the letter. Towards the end, however, Naruto stuck in a little sentence that got Sasuke thinking a bit about his future a bit.

_Teme, just saying, isn't it about the right time to settle down? And knowing your parents, you're gonna have to if you ever want to rule the Uchiha lands. You might as well find a girl that you really like and marry her, then you can take the crown, since Itachi already refused it for your sake._

_Anyways, we should go out for ramen sometime. You and I never get to see each other anymore. _

_Your best friend,_

_Naruto_

_Hn,_ Sasuke scoffed. _As much as I hate to admit it, the dobe has a point. Mom and Dad'll want me to find a suitable wife before I assume the throne. _

He was still signing a huge stack of papers long after the sun had gone down. A quiet knock on the door interrupted his demanding task.

"What is it?" he asked, not even bothering to look up, still signing this one package of paper that required some hundred signatures. Really, how many copies of his name did a person need just to divorce someone?

"Sasuke-kun, you should stop working," Uchiha Mikoto gently told her son as soon as he looked up.

"Okaa-san, I still have another stack to go before I'm done," Sasuke gruffly told his mother. What, was he supposed to act sweet and polite like any other suck up son would?? Nope. Especially not with his fingers cramping to the point where he'd have a much better time burning in hell.

The beautiful mother smiled adoringly at her youngest child. "Sasuke-kun, you've been working all day today. I'll do the rest of them, you go do what you need to do. And you'll have tomorrow off as well." She was rewarded by a very rare smile.

"Arigatou, Okaa-san." He quietly got up and walked out the huge set of double doors, stretching his back and arms as he headed for his room to change. He came back down wearing a loose black T-shirt and some jeans that bagged as soon as they got to his knees. As soon as he stepped out from the stairs, the prince made a dash for the stable, where his black stallion, Kuroi, waited. With care, Sasuke put on the white saddle, packed a small bag of a water bag, apples, and carrots, brushed out Kuroi's fur, and headed off to the place where he most often went to think- beside the Moon River.

* * *

"Thank you, dear _Lord_, I'm done!!" Sakura cheered, stretching her back after checking to make sure that everything in the castle was running properly. 

_Might as well change while I can... _she thought, going upstairs to change into a pair of white denim booty shorts, a red tank top, and her favorite shoe brand, Adidas. She quicly ran outside to greet her tall, pure, gorgeously white mare, Shiro.

"Awh... I'm sorry, Shiro. I didn't mean to leave you feeling so lonely..." Sakura sighed, brushing the mare's coat as a reward and fitting up the horse's black saddle, packing a small bag with sugar cubes, celery, and her water container before heading off to the Moon River.

The Moon River was a breathtaking scene. It was a shallow silver ribbon in the night, since the moon was almost always right above the river, thus giving it its strikingly beautiful name. Only a foot and a half deep and six feet wide, its shallow waters allowed a person to see all the fish, shells, and life in the area. There was a section of the river where flat rocks scattered in a crooked line could be a pathway to the other side. Lush, thick grass carpeted the area, and trees were everywhere. A person could sit there all day and never be bored, even if they wanted to.

Sakura breathed the air deeply, getting off Shiro and leading her to a small stream nearby, leaving her there since Sakura already knew the mare was loyal until the end.

_The water looks so... inviting..._ she sighed, glancing out into the water. Although she resisted the tempations, Sakura couldn't help but fling off her shoes and socks, wading out into the middle of the cool river. _This feels _soooo_ good... _she thought to herself, sitting down on one of the flat rocks, closing her eyes and leaning back so she could feel relaxed. _My feet are burning from walking around the castle all day! _

Unknown to Sakura, a young man named Sasuke Uchiha was watching her with fascination from behind a thick leaved tree. Never before had he seen a girl like the one in front of him right now. She was probably the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his _life_, aside from his mother, that is. She had the most flawless pale flesh, and if it was even half as smooth as it looked, she made silk turn into scratchy cotton. The curves of her body were dangerously perfect, her shorts tightly clinging to a round posterior, and she had the legs of a fine, well-toned athlete. About her blush pink hair... it looked completely natural, seeing as no roots were visible. Another thing that added to her already very _very_ dangerously sexy person was the fact that she was bathed in moonlight(she was facing the moon), giving her the appearance of a goddess that all goddesses, who are supposed to be perfect and beautiful, would be jealous of.

You know that feeling that you get when someone's staring at you for a long time? Sakura was sure feeling it.

_Oh no,_ she thought, wildly looking around. _I forgot to bring my kunai! What if some weirdo comes and tries to rape me?! _She panicked even more as she found someone's feet beside a tree. He, she guessed, was wearing jeans, but the rest of his body was completely covered by the shadow of the plant.

"Show yourself!" she cried, standing up quickly and getting into a defensive stance.

Sasuke was amused. _This girl's not afraid to give a fight. She's not all that bad._

He stepped out of the dark, and onto the grass, revealing himself to the beautiful girl. Her eyes widened as the mystery man left the protection of the tree's shadow. Recognizing him immediately, she quickly hopped over all the stones to stand in front of him, bowed politely, and changed the tone of her voice into one that a princess should use.

"I apologize for behaving so shamefully, Sasuke-san. I do hope you'll accept my apologies as I have brought forth much unnecessary inconvenience to your person." **(Whoa, that actually sounded good...)**

The prince quirked an eyebrow. "So wait, you know me, but I don't know you? Strange, I don't believe we have met before."

Raising her head, she quietly spoke. "Sasuke-san, we have met before, you just do not remember be. I do believe I attended your sixteenth birthday party nearly two years ago, seeing as all single women of high ranking, whether it be a duchess or princess, were invited for the sake of your future engagements, in hopes that you would find a woman that pleased you as well as your parents."

He heard her words, but was much too busy looking into her alluring eyes, framed by thick lashes.

**_Holy shit, Sakura! It's been about a year and a half since we've seen him, yet this guy's _still _smoking all the other prince's asses!!_**

_... For once, I agree with you..._

**_HA! HELL YEAH! I'm always right. And like I said, Sasuke-kun's still as _hot_ as _ever**

_Dammit, Inner Self, he's not our friend! We're not allowed to call him Sasuke-kun! No honorific! _

_**Well, who said we HAD to follow the rules?!**_

_Che, it still doesn't mean we can call him whatever we want. _

**_Dammit, I'm right, you're wrong. Done deal. Now if you'll _excuse me_, Saku-chan, I'm gonna go flirt with a memory file._**

_You do that._

Still, her Inner and herself had agreed for once. Sasuke's skin was nicely colored, a beautiful shade of flesh all over his fine, chiseled body. His arms didn't look beefy, but then again, guys with buldging muscles the size of a watermelon don't look all that great either. You could see that he used his arms often, since the muscles under his taut skin were noticeable. Her eyes traveled up to his handsomely angled jaw to his nose, which adorably curved slightly upward at the tip. His eyes were perhaps the most tantalizing part of his body, and as soon as she looked straight into them, she could feel a delightful shiver crawl down her spine. The dark, dark brown, so brown that they could have been black drew her in. As soon as she was done with his eyes, she was surprised to find that his amazingly cute hairdo was still like that of a chicken's ass.

And all this time, while Sakura was checking Sasuke out, he took the chance to examine her up more closely. Every single thing about her was beautiful, exquisite, especially her face. Plump rosy lips that opened and curved into adorable shapes, a button nose that would make any guy want to kiss, innocent yet terribly seductive forest green eyes that could draw you in with a single glance, naturally flushed cheeks, and it was quite clear now that her hair color was also natural.

"Sasuke-san?" she nervously asked. _The way he's staring- does he hate me?_

"..." Sakura mentally let out a sigh of relief as soon as she felt his eyes look somewhere else.

"What brings you here, anyway?" she softly inquired, sitting down on the grass while directing her gaze upon the river. He sat down with her, mumbling, "I come here often to think."

Giving him a quick glance, she smiled a bit and replied, "As do I. I find it strange that we both come here so often, yet we haven't seen each other."

"Aa."

For another two hours that day, the royal children talked about themselves, rarely, however, since the sweet serenity of the river filled in for the missing gaps. When they did talk, they would always whisper, as if a single word of normal volume would completely shatter the image of peace being projected at the moment.

* * *

"Sasuke-san... It's almost eleven thirty. I think I have to go back now." Sakura whispered, checking the clock on her delicate wrist. 

"I as well."

"Thank you, Sasuke-san. It was a pleasure to have your company," she gave him a genuine smile.

"Aa."

And as she hopped along those little stepping stones across the river so that she'd reach her side, it suddenly dawned upon Sasuke that he still had yet to learn her name. _Is she a duchess??_ he asked himself. _I might as well ask. _

"Hey," he called, just as she left to go through the forest. _Damn. Missed my chance. _Sasuke was just about to turn around when he heard a rustle in the trees from her side, then say her coming out of the forest, leading a pure white mare and...

"What the hell is my horse doing over there?" Sasuke demanded, hopping the stones and grabbing Kuroi's reigns.

"I dunno, I just found him wandering around with Shiro," Sakura explained, patting her mare's head lovingly. "Oh, I might as well give her those treats..." she murmured, digging through her bag and finding the celery and sugar cubes.

"Shiroooo," Sakura called, showing the mare the food. Strangely enough, she didn't eat them. Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "Here, does he want them?" she asked, handing the treats to Sasuke. The hungry stallion ate them in a single bite.

"Kuroi," Sasuke murmured, showing him the apples and carrots he had brought along. As with Sakura's horse, the stallion refused to eat them. "Give them to... Shiro, was it?"

Sakura beamed. "Yes, you got it right, and it looks like she'd much rather have carrots and apples these days. Thank you, Sasuke-san. I hope to meet you again." With that, she jumped onto Shiro and began trotting away. Just as Sakura was about to enter the forest, Sasuke called, "Wait!"

"Yes?" she asked, only turning her head halfway to look at him as her body continued to face the direction she was going.

"I... I never got your name."

She gave him another genuine smile. "Sakura. Haruno Sakura. See ya later, Sasuke." And she sped off into the night.

* * *

**Wow. THAT WAS A LONG CHAPTER!! To be honest, I kind of like it, but tell me what you think anyway! I can take the heat! Thank you so much for all your support!**

**Yes, I know Sasuke is a bit OOC. But when you think about it, his parents aren't dead in this story. He's still got that cold side. It's just that Sasuke is a very hard person to write about and keep in character, since he doesn't say much in the anime _or_ manga. **

**roflmao. Bowl of noodles on his head. I don't know where that came from. :)**

**Love you all.**

**littlechineseazngirl a.k.a. Angie**


End file.
